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Heaven is a place of a large host redeemed. (Revelation)
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Heaven is a place where the ills of time will be known no more. .(Matthew 6)
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Heaven is an endless place. (John 14)
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Heaven is a place of joy in the presence of Jesus. (Peter)
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Heaven is a place of no sin. (Colossians)
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Heaven is a place of rewards. (Romans)
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Heaven is a place of coronation. (Matthew)
Liberal Christians believe that all human being will be transformed; we will all be changed into a new life. “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God...in a flash; in the twinkling of an eye...the dead will be raised imperishable” (Corinthians 15). This means that we cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven if we are still in a form of a human being. We are going to be transformed to a new life to suit the life that is waiting for us after death. We are going to be brand new individuals that will inherit eternal life that is imperishable.
Liberal Christians believe that, we have to listen to the word of the Lord and implement them in our daily lives. By doing what God wants us to do to have a better physical and spiritual life, and apply them to our daily living, we can alter the negative features to positive ones. Knowing that we can have an eternal life and can be with our creator gives us the inspiration to live life to the fullest and do the right things.
“Heaven it will involve a transformation” (1 Corinthians 15v42). This proves that we are going to transform into a new body or into a soul. This also suggests that when we die, we are going to leave our physical body and turn into a new individual or a soul that is full of purity. Purity is one factor that we have to have to inherit the kingdom of heaven. We have to be pure, free from any sins. Purification of a human or a soul will be free from any sins and can start to have a new life.
Hell: General Knowledge, Traditional and Liberal Christian views
In general knowledge, hell is known to be a place of torture and punishment. It is ruled by a devil also known as Satan. If a person didn’t do the right things instead, wasted, ruined and did bad things when they’re still living, heaven is not a place for them. They have to go to hell where they have to pay for the negative things that they have done. Hell is known as the place that lies underneath the earth. A place that is red, extremely hot and full of misery. “Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death”. (Revelation 20:14) this quote from the Revelation shows that hell is made up of lake of fire. No one can be spared from the torture and misery that waits.
Traditional view about hell is Gehenna it was a pit in Jerusalem where people would sacrifice their child is they had sinned. Jesus also referred Gehenna eleven times in the bible. In the Christian religion, Gehenna is the same as hell and bad people go there in the afterlife. Gehenna is referring to in the New Testament and in early Christian writing to represent the final place where the depraved will be punished or destroyed after resurrection. Gehenna is used by Jesus eleven times to describe the opposite to the life in the promised, kingdom of God. (Mark 10:28). This shows that Gehenna is the opposite place of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God promotes an everlasting, comforting and perfect life where neither mourning nor crying. Whilst Gehenna, it is a place like hell, it’s just that we can’t consider hell does exist because we can’t see it. Whilst Gehenna, the particular place does exist, and it is similar to hell where sinned individuals where thrown up there as a consequence to what they have done when they are still alive. Gehenna is considerably a living replica of hell. “It is a place where both body and soul can be destroyed”. (Matthew 10:28) in “unquenchable fire” (Mark 9:43). It shows that Gehenna is hell. Where no one can survive, it is the opposite part of heaven having an everlasting and comfortable life. The quote “a place where body and soul can be destroyed” it provides the idea that, Gehenna is like hell where people who are sinned were thrown down there to pay for the consequences of what have they done. Gehenna is like a replica of hell which exists in the human world. Traditional Christians also believe about the seven deadly sins. The idea came from Thomas Aquinas and inspired by the book ‘Dante’s Inferno’ which tackles about the seven deadly sins. The seven deadly sins are also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins. These sins destroyed the life of grace and created the threat of eternal damnation unless absolved through the sacrament of confession or forgiven through perfect contrition on the part of the penitent. “SAGLIA” is based on the first letters in Latin of the seven deadly sins: Superbia, avaritia, luxuria, invidia, gula, ira and acedia.
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Lust- to have an intense desire or need, excessive thoughts or desires of a sexual nature. “But I tell you that anyone looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28).
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Gluttony (gula) - excess in eating and drinking. It is the over-indulgence and over-consumption of anything to the point of waste. “For drunkards and gluttons become poor and drowsiness clothes them in rags” (Proverbs 23:21)
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Greed (avaritia) – excessive or reprehensible acquisitiveness. “Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more” (Ephesians 4:19)
- Sloth (acedia) – is the neglect to take care of something, and in this case, neglect to do whatever one should do in order to be saved.
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Wrath (ira) – strong vengeful anger or indignation. “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh words stirs up anger”. (Proverbs 15:1)
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Pride (Superbia) – quality or state of being proud- inordinate self esteem. “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18)
Liberal views about hell are that, it is not an actual place that truly exists. “The self chosen loneliness of a man or a woman who prefers self love to the love of God.” So for the liberal Christians, hell is not an actual place. Liberals suggests that evilness is measured in an individuals’ capability to do bad. Whether they are going to let evil dominate the good side of their conscience, it is up to them. Evilness is behind a person’s mind. Each and every one of us is capable to control the malevolence deep inside us.
Hell is not real. Man is not lost in sin and is not doomed to some future judgment without a relationship with Christ through faith. Man can help himself; no sacrificial death by Christ is necessary since a loving God would not send people to such a place as hell since man is not born in sin. This contradicts Jesus himself, who declared himself to be the way to God, through his atoning death.
Body and soul
The soul of each individual person is located in the heart. It is not invisible to the human eyes. It is the secret of God’s creation and it is invisible. Feelings exist because of the present of soul in our body. When one body is not functioning the soul will leave the body and this visible world and the souls which originally already have feelings will feel what is ahead of it in the next/soul world. Soul is from God and it should be return back to God. Your soul is you, the forever you. You can never die. It’s not thought of- to be dead from all existence. You live forever. The soul is located by pinpointing your thoughts and desires. You know where your soul is by observing what kind of master you follow. The Bible teaches us that the soul is the emotions and intellect and is eternal. A person is made up of body, soul and spirit. It's quite easy to figure out the body, but the soul and spirit are a little more elusive. King David talked to his soul quite often in the book of Psalms. "Rejoice in the Lord, O my soul", and so on. The soul is located in your head. You are a three-part being: 1. you are a Spirit 2. You live in a Body 3. You have a Mind (will, and emotions) the third element is the "soul." The spirit is another aspect, and often these two terms are confused. The Spirit is located in the heart of man, where the breath of life enters and provides life to the rest of the body and mind. Being three-dimensional means having interred connectivity to all parts. One part performs to aid the other part in its operation. Your soul is the realm which contains your senses, stores knowledge, wisdom, discernment, perception, and discretion. The soul is where free-will is governed and where all emotional facets originate; this is the most distinguished part of man.
Purgatory
Purgatory in accordance with Catholic teaching is a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God’s grace are not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions. According to Catholic belief immediately after death, a person undergoes judgment in which the soul’s eternal destiny is specified. Some are eternally united with God, often envisioned as a paradise of eternal joy. Conversely, others are destined for hell. A state of eternal separation from God often envisioned as a fiery place of punishment. Catholics make a distinction between types of sin. Mortal sin is a ‘grave violation of God’s law’ that ‘turns man away from God’ and if it is not redeemed by repentance and God’s forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ’s kingdom and eternal death of hell.
There are also called; venial sins which means forgivable sin does not set us in direct opposition to the will and friendship of God, and although it is still considered as constituting moral disorder, does not deprive the sinner of friendship with God, and consequently the eternal happiness of heaven. According to Catholicism, pardon of sins and purification can occur during life for example, the Sacrament of Baptism and Sacrament of Penance. However, if this purification is not achieved in life, venial sins can be purified after death which is called purification of sin after death is ‘purgatory’.
Last Judgement:
Christians believe that they are going to be judged by God at the end of time. The ideas of the Last Judgement are often used as ways to startle people. But the message that the Last Judgement is trying to say is that, it is an urgent call from God to respond to God’s offer of salvation while there is still time. Jewish people are also expecting for the coming of the Messiah, that he will come to the earth at the end of time to congregate all the faithful people who believes and him and build a new heaven and a new earth. In Matthew 24:1-14, 36-44) about his final coming at the ‘end of the age’, this suggest that God will be coming to the earth and he will decided which people are worth it to be saved and which people aren’t. The Last Judgement also suggests that, God lived in the person if Jesus Christ his son who will be the Messiah in the new kingdom. No one knows when Jesus will return. This suggests that we have to be ready in our everyday life, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 stresses the importance of readiness in our life. We always have to be ready as we don’t know when we are going to die. Being ready to meet Christ at any time should have a radical effect on the Christian’s priorities and way of life. The bible also spread the information about the Day of Judgement in the form of parable; The Sheep and the Goats. In which people will be divided into two groups. This story tells Christians a number of important things about judgement; The Son of Man will be the one who will serve as the judge during the Judgement day and he will be enthroned as King. People will be separated into two groups, on his right hand and on his left. Those people on the right are called ‘blessed’ and ‘righteous’ and they are the ones who will inherit the kingdom of God which is prepared for them and they are going to have an eternal life, and the most important is that, the judgement is based on people’s conduct. By their loving actions the ‘righteous’ have shown the family characteristics of the Father. In contrast, the others are punished for the self-interest which has made them blind to the needs of others.
Atonement and Salvation:
In Christianity, Atonement is a doctrine that describes how a sin is forgiven by God. In Christian theology, Atonement refers to the forgiving of sins through the death of God’s only Son, Jesus Christ by crucifixion. By atonement, there is a possibility of reconciliation between God and his people. There is a belief that there are three theories that explains the aspect of atonement. The first one is that, Jesus saves us from our sins, by paying a ransom for our sins to the Devil. Second came from the moral influence theory which suggests that; Christ saves us from sins by awakening our love through the act of forgiveness on the cross.
Salvation is the concept that God, as a part of the Divine providence, saves humanity from spiritual death or eternal damnation by providing them eternal life. Salvation may be also called ‘Redemption’ or’ Deliverance’ from sins and its effects. Some religions claimed that salvation can be attained by meditation, accumulation of wisdom or doing good deeds.
Realized Eschatology
It is the Christian Eschatological that holds the eschatological passages in the New Testament. This doesn’t refer to the future but instead, it refers to the ministry of Jesus and his ceaseless legacy. This suggests that eschatology is not the end of the world instead, it is considered as a rebirth of the legacy of Jesus and his disciples. Realized eschatology rejects the idea of ‘end of the world’ theories’ saying that it is irrelevant. So in the future, the belief of the ‘end of the world’ is not really the end of human existence, it is a rebirth of a new life, a new ruler, The Messiah.
Overall, different people have different beliefs about heaven and hell. However, it is up to us individuals, on what and who are we going to believe. If we are going to believed that there is a place called heaven and hell; then we should stand up for what we believe. There is no harm if we are going to believe about those two places. The important thing is, we believed in something, we believed that there will be a place of eternity and a place of torture. It is really up to us if what life are we going to choose to live in.
Us humans, we lived in a world where we don’t know what’s going to happen to us at the end of time. But as what the argument is talking about, there is for sure, a place where we should belong. However, there are some contradictions with this as; some may argue that, there are no place such heavens or hell. We are just going to vanish when it is our time to leave the world. Important points that we have to remember are that, we should live our lives to the fullest, doing and implementing good deeds. In that simple way, we can make a massive change.
